There is nothing that erases the grief of losing a horse in one's stable, particularly one as talented as 2017 Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (USA-G1) winner Battle of Midway. Nonetheless, Vasilika did what she could to provide a consolation prize to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's barn later the same day by winning the Buena Vista Stakes (USA-G2) on February 23. It was the 5-year-old mare's 10th win from 12 starts since being claimed for US$40,000 and was the fifth graded stakes win for last year's Rodeo Drive Stakes (USA-G1) heroine.
Grade or Group 1 success is not new to the family of Nato II (Court Martial x Safari Moon, by Big Game). which also includes multiple Grade/Group 1 winners Quack and Flemensfirth, the Grade I-winning fillies Bundler and Likeable Style, and a fair number of lesser graded or Group winners including It's Freezing, a multiple Grade/Group 3 winner who carved out a niche for himself at stud as a prolific sire of durable, hard-knocking winners. Vasilika, however, hails from a lesser branch of the family.
Sired by 2010 Swaps Stakes (USA-G2) winner Skipshot, an otherwise unheralded son of 1998 American Horse of the Year Skip Away, Vasilika is one of four winners produced from the Marquetry mare La Belle Marquet. A winner of one of her two starts, La Belle Marquet was acquired privately by breeder Mikhail Yanakov while in foal to Tale of the Cat (the resulting foal, a 2013 colt, was never named) and has since been bred exclusively to Skipshot. Her other foals by the stallion are the 4-year-old winner Golden Dragon, the placed 3-year-old filly Vasilisa, and a yearling colt.
A full sister to Grade 2-placed multiple listed stakes winner Chris's Bad Boy, La Belle Marquet is out of the minor stakes winner Good For Her (by Topsider), whose stakes-placed half sister Sweet and Steady (by Canadian champion Steady Growth) is the dam of 1998 Princess Stakes (USA-G2) winner Sweet and Ready (by El Prado). Good For Her, in turn, is out of multiple Grade 3-placed winner Please Try Harder (by Nashua), whose dam is Nato II's winning daughter We Try Harder (by Blue Prince).
If Vasilika were a male, the presence of Skipshot as her sire would likely preclude top-class opportunities as a stallion. As a broodmare, however, her status as a Grade 1 winner and multiple graded stakes winner is likely to weigh far more than her immediate pedigree, and with good reason. Because of the stiff competition among stallion owners and managers for mares with desirable credentials as racers or producers, a good race mare need not have a top pedigree to qualify for a top sire's book. It's also worth noting that good race mares have a much better than average track record as producers regardless of strength of pedigree. That means that Vasilika, in spite of her relatively modest antecedents, will most likely complete her Cinderella story in some Prince Charming's court, giving her a good chance of adding another chapter of success to her female family's story.
Grade or Group 1 success is not new to the family of Nato II (Court Martial x Safari Moon, by Big Game). which also includes multiple Grade/Group 1 winners Quack and Flemensfirth, the Grade I-winning fillies Bundler and Likeable Style, and a fair number of lesser graded or Group winners including It's Freezing, a multiple Grade/Group 3 winner who carved out a niche for himself at stud as a prolific sire of durable, hard-knocking winners. Vasilika, however, hails from a lesser branch of the family.
Sired by 2010 Swaps Stakes (USA-G2) winner Skipshot, an otherwise unheralded son of 1998 American Horse of the Year Skip Away, Vasilika is one of four winners produced from the Marquetry mare La Belle Marquet. A winner of one of her two starts, La Belle Marquet was acquired privately by breeder Mikhail Yanakov while in foal to Tale of the Cat (the resulting foal, a 2013 colt, was never named) and has since been bred exclusively to Skipshot. Her other foals by the stallion are the 4-year-old winner Golden Dragon, the placed 3-year-old filly Vasilisa, and a yearling colt.
A full sister to Grade 2-placed multiple listed stakes winner Chris's Bad Boy, La Belle Marquet is out of the minor stakes winner Good For Her (by Topsider), whose stakes-placed half sister Sweet and Steady (by Canadian champion Steady Growth) is the dam of 1998 Princess Stakes (USA-G2) winner Sweet and Ready (by El Prado). Good For Her, in turn, is out of multiple Grade 3-placed winner Please Try Harder (by Nashua), whose dam is Nato II's winning daughter We Try Harder (by Blue Prince).
If Vasilika were a male, the presence of Skipshot as her sire would likely preclude top-class opportunities as a stallion. As a broodmare, however, her status as a Grade 1 winner and multiple graded stakes winner is likely to weigh far more than her immediate pedigree, and with good reason. Because of the stiff competition among stallion owners and managers for mares with desirable credentials as racers or producers, a good race mare need not have a top pedigree to qualify for a top sire's book. It's also worth noting that good race mares have a much better than average track record as producers regardless of strength of pedigree. That means that Vasilika, in spite of her relatively modest antecedents, will most likely complete her Cinderella story in some Prince Charming's court, giving her a good chance of adding another chapter of success to her female family's story.
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